Yakama Nation police investigate horse deaths

Yakama Nation police are investigating the deaths of at least 11 horses near the southern boundary of the reservation over the past few months.

Tribal Council Chairman Harry Smiskin told the Yakima Herald-Republic that few details were available, including whether the deaths are related. “They’re still investigating it,” Smiskin said.

Motorists reported seeing the carcasses from U.S. Highway 97 in the Satus Pass area, where thousands of horses roam in herds. Len Schulmeister, the owner of Pine Springs Resort, 13 miles north of Goldendale on U.S. 97, said he had seen eagles eating at the carcasses of three or four horses.

Speculation has focused on whether the horses were killed as bait by eagle hunters. Although eagle hunting is illegal, selling the feathers can be lucrative.